Courtesy Of: IslamOnline.net
By Nadim Zaazaa
Freelance writer - Lebanon
Muslim Affairs
The political philosophy behind governing Lebanon has always been, and continues to be, that of power-sharing among the various sectarian communities.
Historical Background
The first joint local political administration of these communities was the Administrative Council that operated under Ottoman supervision. The council's 12 seats were proportionally distributed by sect based on population size.
Under the French Mandate, Lebanon's constitution was introduced in 1926. It favored the Maronites and gave them substantial power via the president.
Upon Lebanon's independence in 1943, a new agreement arose among the Lebanese known as the National Pact. The pact also embodied a power-sharing formula between the Christians and the Muslims in a ratio of six to five in Parliament seats. The president would be a Maronite, the prime minister a Sunni, and the parliament speaker a Shiite. This proportional distribution also applied to the key administrative positions in the country.
However, the more important dimension of the National Pact, a verbal agreement never put to writing, was a mutual understanding between the two main religions that laid the foundations of the true consent of Lebanon's religious communities to unite under one national society. The Muslims would give up their calls to unite with Syria, a historical Arab nationalist aspiration for Arab integration. The Christians would cease to depend on foreign protection and intervention in the country as a minority within the Muslim region. This mutual declaration not only sketched the map of regional and international influences on Lebanon's communities but aimed at managing this network to the favor of national interest.
Lebanon went into three major conflicts after its independence and particularly after the adoption of the National Pact. The first was in 1958 when the rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser and his championing of Arab nationalism found a popular following in Lebanon. Comprising mainly Muslims, the movement and its rapid growth threatened the Christians who backed their president in his adoption of the Eisenhower Doctrine, hence joining the Western Camp. Insurrection broke out and was only ended by the formation of a new government by Fouad Shehab, who led the country into relative calm in what is known as the Shehabist era.
The War Of Others In Lebanon
The second conflict and the most significant was the Lebanese civil war, which broke out in 1975, again a result of the disruption of that same balance. One major disrupting factor was the rapid increase in the number of Palestinian refugees in the country and the arrival of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). The changing demographic balance in favor of the Muslims, coupled with their alliance with the PLO, drove the country to another archetypal division. Regional influence assumed its role again; the Arab defeats in 1967 and 1972 had witnessed the rise of the PLO as a freedom-fighter model of Arab resistance. This had all the Arab countries race in supporting the Palestinian cause, and it was only Lebanon that was strategic yet weak enough to be able to host the PLO following their ousting from Jordan by King Hussein.
Once again the PLO, the new regional trend, found a following and a natural alliance with the rising left in Lebanon. The National Movement was in alliance with the LNM, a coalition of the Leftist leader Kamal Jumblatt, the Lebanese Communist Party, Nasserite and Arab Nationalist supporters, and moderate Christians like Raymond Edde. Their movement demanded the abolishment of political sectarianism and the establishment of a secular system instead; they also supported the right of the Palestinians to armed struggle even from Lebanese territory. As in 1958, this upset the Maronites and drove them to form the Lebanese Front in order to defend the constitution and system.
The conflict lasted 15 years. Its original context was defused into a chaotic discourse of sectarian fighting, militia control, shifting positions, and massive foreign meddling to an extent that the war was called "the war of others in Lebanon." Lebanon's civil war witnessed a Syrian presence (1976-2005) that continued long after the war had ended. The war also witnessed two large-scale Israeli invasions (1978 and 1982), and apprehensive roles for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union.
The conflict was ended by the Ta'if Agreement, a constitutional amendment that established an equal-power-sharing formula, delegated presidential powers in favor of the prime minister and the Parliament, and pledged to gradually abolish sectarianism through a bicameral and decentralized system.
The Current Conflict
The third conflict is that of the current events. It may not qualify as a full-fledged armed confrontation yet, but it may just be on the brink of becoming so.
On February 14, 2005, Premier Hariri was assassinated in a downtown Beirut blast. Earlier there had been an attempt on Minister Marwan Hemadeh's life. The political circumstances that surrounded the two events got a majority of the Lebanese to point the finger at Syria. The forceful re-election of President Emile Lahoud and the resultant Security Council Resolution 1559 finally elaborated the long-called-for withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. The resolution also called for the disarmament of all militias on Lebanese territories in an insinuation of the resistance (Hizbullah) and the Palestinian factions. With the assassination of Hariri came a massive popular movement against Syrian hegemony in Lebanon. Anti-Syrian protests took the streets and with intensive international pressure, the Syrians left the country.
March 14 Alliance
The events engaged different parties and sects into what came to be called the March 14 movement. The name comes from the famously massive demonstration that took place one month after Hariri's assassination. Primarily, the March 14 alliance joined Hariri's Future Movement led by his son Saad (Sunni); the late Kamal Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party led by his son Walid (Druze); the famous Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun, long exiled to Syria; the Lebanese Forces led by Samir Geagea; and the Kataeb Party led by Amin Gemayel, whose son Pierre was recently assassinated (Maronites). This was the first time that Maronite opposition to Syrian hegemony was joined by the Sunnis and Druzes in such an overt manner. All those leaders and their contingent supporters considered themselves to have suffered from Syrian practices for over three decades. Syria was clearly accused of a common collection of assassinations against each of these parties —Kamal Jumblatt, Bashir Gemayel, Mufti Hasan Khaled, and Rafiq Al-Hariri, among others.
The March 14 parties — with the exception of Aoun's FPM, which parted the alliance —proceeded to take over the majority of the Parliament seats later in 2005. As a result, and for the first time without Syrian intervention, a new government was formed.
That government is none other but that of Fouad Siniora, the finance minister of all of Rafik Al-Hariri's governments and an icon of the late Hariri's legacy in Lebanon. As an important part of Hariri's team, Siniora's contribution to Lebanon's financial stability was highlighted by his efficient performance and transparency. The March 14 alliance enjoyed vast support from the US and its allies throughout this whole period.
March 8 Alliance
At the other end of the spectrum lies the March 8 alliance. The name comes from another massive yet pro-Syrian demonstration that preferred to thank Syria upon its withdrawal from Lebanon. The main party in the March 8 alliance and the bulk of its popular support is the Shiite Hizbullah. The alliance also includes Amal, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Birri. Various pro-Syrian parties and factions joined the alliance such as the Maronite Suleiman Franjiyyeh and his supporters. Suleiman is named after his grandfather, the president of Lebanon in 1975 and the one who originally asked Syria to intervene in Lebanon's war in 1976. Other smaller parties that joined the alliance are Osama Saad's Popular Nasserite Organization (Sunni), Talal Arslan's Lebanese Democratic Party (Druze), the pro-Syrian secular Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), and Premier Omar Karameh, whose brother Premier Rashid was a prominent Sunni figure from the northern city of Tripoli. Premier Rashid Karameh was a well-supported Sunni figure was aligned with the National Movement. He was assassinated by the Lebanese Forces during the civil war.
The March 8 bloc was not as clearly aligned during the elections. In fact, Hizbullah aligned itself with the March 14 PSP and Future Movement in several electoral venues and contributed to their victory. After the elections, however, the block crystallized into a more cohesive alliance as Aoun's FPM signed a communiqué of understanding with Hizbullah and later on joined the March 8 bloc.
Coalitions Crystallized
With the two blocs eventually clearing into well defined opposing blocs, the division became well instituted. Supported by the US, the Europeans, and the client Arab regimes, March 14's demands for an international tribunal on the assassination of Hariri clearly target the Syrian regime. The issue is typically politicized as being supported by the Americans as a waving threat to Bashar Asad's regime. In the face of that, Syria's allies in Lebanon would only be able to pick their fight by retaining their power hold on the country's institutions. The other important power hold for Syria is Hizbullah's massive popularity both in Lebanon and in the region. This international challenge between two opposing powers has had its transposition on the internal Lebanese scene. Throughout the year, the Lebanese engaged in national dialogues over the disputed issues of the presidency of Lahoud, Hizbullah's arms, and the international tribunal. The situation witnessed sharp ups and downs throughout the year.
Here, the July 2006 war comes only to be explained as a puzzle piece in the ongoing map of skirmishes between the American axis and the rising Syrian-Iranian axis. It may be true that the context of the crisis is rooted in an ongoing showdown between Hizbullah and Israel, but this time it may have been a new elevation of the level of tit-for-tat between the two camps.
Locally, with the end of the July war, the Lebanese factions went back to a replenished version of their unproductive dialogue attempts. With these attempts failed too, the answer was in resorting to another confrontation. Demands by Hizbullah and its allies for a government of national unity were not answered. This call for a share in the pie can be viewed as Syria's natural plight for what it deserves after its claimed success via Hizbullah. The US still stands firm in support of Siniora's government. The demands of the March 8 alliance seem to aim for the resignation of the current government as the sole priority for now. This gridlock is aggravating the country and has already caused significant tension and violence. To the moment, both blocs seem to be holding on to their opinions. All the regional players and the West seem to be keen on finding a way out, except for Syria and Iran. They seem silent.
With the Baker Plan announced, new policy guidelines and pressures from the American Democrats will be forming US policy in the Middle East. The Americans have shown a willingness to sit with Syria and Iran (as Iraq's neighbors), however linkage policy will bring Lebanon into the prism.
Will the Americans cooperate? Will they accept to concede a few points here and there? Or will they stick to unilateral action? Will the Iranians and the Syrians be asking just too much? Or will they cleverly top their efforts by snatching the right deal? What would be Lebanon's share of the deal? Lebanon awaits.
Nadim Zaazaa is a Lebanese activist and researcher who holds a BA in political science from the American University in Beirut. He is a member of the volunteer organization Mowatinun.
Related Links:
Lebanon Rising From the Rubble
Al-Hariri’s Assassination and the Lebanese Impasse
Lebanese War Echoes in Syrian Minds
Hizbullah FAQ
Hizbullah Vanguard and Liberator
Free Patriotic Movement's Official Website
Lebanese Forces' Official Website
Hizbullah's Official Website
Lebanese Kataeb's Official Website
Amal Movement's Official Website
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